Unguentarium

An unguentarium (plural "unguentaria") [Neuter noun from the Latin "unguentarius", "concerned with the production, sale, etc., of [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Unguenta.html ointments] ," "Oxford Latin Dictionary" (Oxford: Clarendon Press 1982, 1985 printing), p. 2092. The noun is a modern coinage as it applies to these vessels: see Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), pp. 175–176, note 28, for references on possible ancient terminology. In antiquity, the adjective "unguentarius" and its substantives referred to the perfume trade.] is a small ceramic or glass bottle found frequently by archaeologists at Hellenistic and Roman sites, especially in cemeteries. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 105.] Its most common use was probably as a container for oil, though it is also suited for storing and dispensing liquid and powdered substances. Some finds date into the early Christian era. [For examples, James Whitley, "Archaeology in Greece 2003–2004," "Archaeological Reports" 50 (2003–2004), p. 66, with example dating from the 5th–7th century.] From the 2nd to the 6th century they are more often made of blown glass rather than clay. [Henry S. Robinson, "Pottery of the Roman Period: Chronology," in "The Athenian Agora", vol. 5 (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1959), pp. 15 and 118.] A few examples are silver or alabaster. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 111, note 34.]

Unguentaria were used as product packaging in commerce and for funerary practice. They are distributed throughout the Mediterranean region of the Roman Empire from Palestine to Spain, and north into Britain and Germania. Their manufacture was nearly as widespread. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 105; E. Marianne Stern, "Glass Is Hot," "American Journal of Archaeology" 106 (2002), p. 464.]

Forms and function

The term "unguentarium" is functional rather than descriptive; that is, it refers to the purpose for which this relatively small vessel is thought to have been used and is not typological by shape. [Natalia Vogelkoff-Brogan, "Late Hellenistic Pottery in Athens: A New Deposit and Further Thoughts on the Association of Pottery and Societal Change," "Hesperia" 69 (2000), p. 316.] In its early development, the shape was modeled in miniature after larger amphoras, which would have been the original bulk shipping containers for products sold in the ungentaria. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 177, and "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 142.] An unguentarium is not always distinguished in the scholarly literature from an ampulla, [William Anderson, "An Archaeology of Late Antique Pilgrim Flasks," "Anatolian Studies" 54 (2004), p. 82, with reference to John Hayes (1971), who categorized a wheel-made, fusiform ampulla as a "late Roman unguentarium."] a term from antiquity that may refer to these as well as other small vessels. In scholarship of the modern era, an unguentarium is sometimes called a lacrimarium ("tear-container") or balsamarium ("balsam-container"). All three terms reflect modern usage based on assumptions about their use, and no single word is found in ancient sources for the vessels. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), pp. 105–106; Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), pp. 175–176, note 28.]

Small vessels of two shapes, usually but not always without handles, are referred to as unguentaria:

Fusiform. The fusiform shape (example [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~semitic/Cesnola/filemaker.cgi?obnum=509&class=&shape=&cdate= here] ) is characteristic of Hellenistic unguentaria: a heavy ovoid body resting usually on a small distinct ring foot, with a long tubular neck or cylindrical stem. The shape is comparable to a spindle (Latin "fusus", "spindle"). [Homer A. Thompson, "Two Centuries of Hellenistic Pottery," "Hesperia" 4 (1934), p. 472; Henry S. Robinson, "Pottery of the Roman Period: Chronology," in "The Athenian Agora", vol. 5 (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1959), p. 15; Nabil I. Khairy, "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria," "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 240 (1980), p. 85; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 106.] These ovoid unguentaria first appear in Cyprus around the turn of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. [George H. McFadden, "A Tomb of the Necropolis of Ayios Ermoyenis at Kourion," "American Journal of Archaeology" 50 (1946), p. 474.] and may have been Near Eastern in origin or influence. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 115.] Early examples are similar in shape to the amphoriskos. They are believed to develop functionally from the lekythos, which they replace by the end of the 4th century B.C. [Nabil I. Khairy, "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria," "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 240 (1980), p. 85; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 106; Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 138] The fusiform unguentarium was in use for several centuries and the form shows many variations, including later examples with very slender profiles. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 107.]

Piriform. The unguentarium with a footless body that is rounded or pear-shaped (Latin "pirus", "pear") began to appear in the second half of the 1st century B.C. and is characteristic of the Roman era, particularly the early Principate. [Nabil I. Khairy, "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria," "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 240 (1980), pp. 85–86; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), pp. 113–114; Patricia Maynor Bikai and Megan A. Perry, "Petra North Ridge Tombs 1 and 2: Preliminary Report," "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 324 (2001), p. 66.] These are regularly associated with graves in the 1st century. [Henry S. Robinson, "Pottery of the Roman Period: Chronology," in "The Athenian Agora", vol. 5 (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1959), p. 85.] The piriform unguentarium was in use for a limited period of about a hundred years and did not replace the fusiform. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 107.] A puzzling exception to this chronology is the squat rounded unguentarium with painted bands found on the northeast coast of Spain and in other Iberian cemeteries, dated as early as the 5th century B.C. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), pp. 138–139.]

The word "bulbous" is used rather confusingly in the scholarship to describe both forms. "Bulbous" appears as a synonym for "piriform," but is applied descriptively to the fusiform to distinguish certain examples from more slender profiles.

Thin blown-glass bottles began to appear in Cyprus after the middle of the 1st century B.C. [George H. McFadden, "A Tomb of the Necropolis of Ayios Ermoyenis at Kourion," "American Journal of Archaeology" 50 (1946), p. 480.] The use of the new medium for unguentaria resulted in variations of form, including the thin, "test-tube" type. Glass unguentaria made in Thessaly, for example, often have a distinctive conical body, flared like the bell of a trumpet, or are squat and rounded with a very long neck; they come in a range of colors including aquamarine, pale green, and yellowish green, or may be colorless. [Gladys Davidson Weinberg, "Evidence for Glass Manufacture in Ancient Thessaly," "American Journal of Archaeology" 66 (1962) 129–133.] This shape was popular in the 2nd and 3rd centuries and is also characteristic of Thrace and Cyprus. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 113.]

Glass bird-shaped containers for cosmetics found at various Roman sites from Herculaneum to Spain have also been called unguentaria. In these examples, dating from the period of the piriform type, the neck has become a spout, and the profile is no longer vertical. As with other unguentaria, no clear distinction can be made between the use of these vessels for grooming in daily life, and their inclusion in tombs. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), pp. 116–117; Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass "unguentaria" from the Colony of "Celsa" (Spain)," "Journal of Archaeological Science" 23 (1996), pp. 649–650, following C. Isings, "Roman Glass from Dated Finds" (Groningen-Djakarta 1957), on vessel form.]

Commercial and secular use

In her typology of Hellenistic vessels at Athens used to contain and pour oil, Susan I. Rotroff classes unguentaria with plastic askoi as used for perfumed oil in bathing and grooming, but notes the diversity of craft tradition associated with them. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), pp. 6, 32, and 169.] Most unguentaria from the Athenian agora were probably intended for secular use, as they are found in household dumps; the pattern of deposition in some wells, however, suggests votive offerings. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 176. ]

It has been suggested that products shipped in bulk containers were dispensed for sale in these smaller vessels. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 177; Stuart James Fleming, "Roman Glass: Reflections on Cultural Change" (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1999), p. 62.] Perfumed oils, ointments, balsam, jasmine, kohl, honey, mastic, incense, scent powders ["Diapasmata," mentioned by Pliny the Elder, "Historia naturalis" 13.3.19.] and cosmetic preparations are among the contents proposed by scholars or evidenced by archaeology. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 137; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 115; Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass "unguentaria" from the Colony of "Celsa" (Spain)," "Journal of Archaeological Science" 23 (1996), p. 650–651.] With their long slender necks, the vessels were most suited for dispensing liquids, oils, and powders. Roman examples of bulbous unguentaria have been found with traces of olive oil. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 174–175, note 28.] A sharp distinction should not be made between cosmetics and medicaments, as ingredients for these preparations often overlap. [Nabil I. Khairy, "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria," "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 240 (1980), p. 88.] Chemical analysis of red and pink substances in two glass unguentaria from the Ebro valley in Spain showed that they were likely cosmetics, but similar ingredients are found in therapeutic recipes. [Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass "unguentaria" from the Colony of "Celsa" (Spain)," "Journal of Archaeological Science" 23 (1996) 649–655, with reference to literary sources on the preparation of cosmetics (pp. 654–655). The substances were a mixture of gypsum and calcite, tinted with hematite (red ochre), in an organic binder.] The name "unguentarium" may be misleading, as solid unguents, or ointments, would be difficult to remove through the narrow neck. [Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass "unguentaria" from the Colony of "Celsa" (Spain)," "Journal of Archaeological Science" 23 (1996), p. 650; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 115.] There is little or no evidence of how the contents were prevented from spilling, as no corks, wax or clay seals, or lead stoppers have been found with unguentaria as they have with other vessels. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 114; Nicola Schreiber, "The Cypro-Phoenician Pottery of the Iron Age" (Brill, 2003), p. 63.]

The manufacture of unguentaria seems to occur in conjunction with the marketing of products. [Josefina Pérez-Arantegui, Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta, and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar, "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass "unguentaria" from the Colony of "Celsa" (Spain)," "Journal of Archaeological Science" 23 (1996), p. 650; Susan I. Potroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 157, with cautions on the difficulty of defining industries or determining whether the vessels were intended for local products or repackaging bulk imports.] Roman glass unguentaria often have markings or lettering, usually on the base, that could indicate the manufacturer of the vessel or the supplier or dealer of the product inside. [Stuart James Fleming, "Roman Glass" (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1999), pp. 65–66.] Nabataean piriform wheel-thrown unguentaria show creative variations by potters, perhaps to establish brand identity for the product they contained. These vessels include some of the larger unguentaria and may have been used for shipping as part of the Nabataeans' active perfume trade. [Nabil I. Khairy, "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria," "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 240 (1980), p. 86.]

Mass production of Roman blown-glass unguentaria is indicated by their frequent asymmetry, which results from speed and timing in shearing the neck from the blow-pipe. Recycled glass, as from a large, heavy broken bottle, could have been used to make many of the smaller unguentaria. [Stuart James Fleming, "Roman Glass" (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1999), pp. 24 and 53.]

Funerary and religious context

While unguentaria often appear among grave goods, the purpose of their inclusion has not been determined with certainty or may vary by site. Unguentaria found in burials range in size from miniatures (4–5 cm.) to large examples 20 to 30 cm. high. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), pp. 105–106.] The presence of the vessel in Hellenistic graves may indicate a revival of an earlier practice, attested in the 6th century by aryballoi and in some 5th- and early 4th-century burials by small lekythoi, which involved the deposit of a small container of perfume or oil with the dead. [E.G. Pemberton, "Ten Hellenistic Graves in Ancient Corinth," "Hesperia" 54 (1985), pp. 284-285.] By the 3rd century, the black-figure lekythos with palmettes or Dionysiac scenes has been completely replaced as a standard grave good by the undecorated, "cruder" unguentarium, indicating a shift in burial practice that is characteristic of the period. [Karen Stears, "Losing the Picture: Change and Continuity in Athenian Grave Monuments in the Fourth and Third Centuries B.C.," in "Word and Image in Ancient Greece," edited by N.K. Rutter and Brian A. Sparkes (Edinburgh University Press, 2000), p. 222.]

Although the unguentaria seem often to have been buried along with other objects associated with or treasured by the deceased or as grave gifts, they may have also have held a substance — such as oil, wine, or powdered incense — for a graveside ritual. The design of many unguentaria would not permit them to stand without support, but no stands have been found. Late Hellenistic gravestones depict unguentaria resting in a support, but they would also fit well in the palm of the hand, as shown in this Egyptian [http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_image.aspx?objectId=119929&partId=1&searchText=unguentarium&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&numPages=10&currentPage=1&asset_id=125373 mummy portrait] . [From Roman Egypt, 2nd century A.D.; British Museum, information [http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/search_object_details.aspx?objectid=119929&partid=1&searchText=unguentarium&fromADBC=ad&toADBC=ad&numpages=10&orig=%2fresearch%2fsearch_the_collection_database.aspx&currentPage=1 here.] ] Ritual dispensing, rather than long-term storage, might explain both the lack of durability needed for use in daily life and the absence of stands, stoppers or seals. [Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987) 114, 116, 119, 121; Nicola Schreiber, "The Cypro-Phoenician Pottery of the Iron Age" (Brill, 2003), p. 63; Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 139.]

There is no standard assemblage of grave goods for which an unguentarium was required. Unguentaria often appear among articles for personal grooming; in one example, with a stone cosmetics pallet, strigils, tweezers and a pyxis, [George H. McFadden, "A Tomb of the Necropolis of Ayios Ermoyenis at Kourion," "American Journal of Archaeology" 50 (1946), p. 463.] and in another, with a pyxis, mirror, bronze scissors and tongs. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 191.] Gravestones from Anatolia depict the deceased with a similar group of objects, including mirror, comb, boxes and cistai, wool basket, and unguentaria. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 139; Susan Walker, "Ancient Faces: Mummy Portraits from Roman Egypt" (Taylor & Francis, 2000) p. 123, citing numerous examples in M. Waelkens, "Die kleinasiatische Türsteine" (Mainz 1982).] One Athenian burial produced five bulbous unguentaria along with five knucklebones and a bronze needle; another, of a female child, contained an unguentarium, earrings, a blue glass pendant, and six knucklebones. [Cedric G. Boulter, "Graves in Lenormant Street, Athens," "Hesperia" 32 (1963), pp. 127–128. Knucklebones, widely used for divination, are common in burials; see, for instance, Jenifer Neils, "The Morgantina Phormiskos," "American Journal of Archaeology" 96 (1992) 225–235. As playthings of the Child Zagreus, knucklebones are among the sacred objects in Dionysiac religion, which may also account for their inclusion; on these toys, see Clement of Alexandria, "Protrepticus" 2.17.2, and W.K.C. Guthrie, " [http://books.google.com/books?id=-C6wNyrxUO8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:orpheus+intitle:and+intitle:Greek+intitle:Religion+inauthor:guthrie&lr=&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U2RFT3DjQZr0_A0indp_cF4oA-vyg Orpheus and Greek Religion] : A Study of the Orphic Movement" (New York: Norton, 1966, revised edition), pp. 120–126.] Gold leaves and unguentaria were the grave gifts in a burial chamber at Kourion in Cyprus. [George H. McFadden, "A Tomb of the Necropolis of Ayios Ermoyenis at Kourion," "American Journal of Archaeology" 50 (1946), p. 465.]

At Amisos (modern Samsun) in the Black Sea region of Turkey, the grave goods in the early Hellenistic tomb of a wealthy family were exceptionally rich and of outstanding workmanship, but the unguentaria were plain and made of clay. One of the bodies was adorned with gold earrings in the shape of Nike, ten gold appliqués of Thetis riding a hippocamp, snake bracelets and bracelets with lion-head terminals, and other gold items; on the right side of the skull was placed a single clay unguentarium. [Deniz Burcu Erciyas, "Wealth, Aristocracy and Royal Propaganda under the Hellenistic Kingdom of the Mithradatids" (Brill, 2005) pp. 67–72.]

Some graves contain multiple unguentaria, in one case numbering 31 of the fusiform type, while others hold a single example. [Cedric G. Boulter, "Graves in Lenormant Street, Athens," "Hesperia" 32 (1963), pp. 125–128.] Grave gifts sometimes consisted of nothing but unguentaria. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 183.] Neither the piriform unguentaria nor thin blown-glass vessels occur in burials before the Augustan period. [George H. McFadden, "A Tomb of the Necropolis of Ayios Ermoyenis at Kourion," "American Journal of Archaeology" 50 (1946), p. 480] In Mainz, unguentaria are the most common grave gifts made of glass during the first half of the 1st century; in Gaul and Britain, glass unguentaria appear as containers for scented oils in both cremations and inhumations in this period and continuing into the 3rd century, but disappear by the 4th. [Dorothy Watts, "Religion in Late Roman Britain: Forces of Change" (London: Routledge, 1998), p. 125, on the unguentaria as evidence of how quickly Roman burial customs were adopted in Britannia; E. Marianne Stern, "Glass Is Hot," "American Journal of Archaeology" 106 (2002), pp. 464–465 on Gaul.]

Rock-cut tombs at Labraunda, investigated in 2005, contained unguentaria, shown "in situ" [http://www.arkeologi.uu.se/aks/projects/Labrandabilder07/26.jpghere] .

The grave goods of Jewish ossuaries at Jericho in the Second Temple period often include unguentaria along with bowls, lamps, and various vessels ordinarily encountered in daily life. [Rachel Hachlili, "Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology in the Land of Israel" (Brill Archive, 1988), p. 97.]

Unguentaria have also been found in Athens in ritual pyres along with the burnt bones of animal sacrifice and smashed pottery. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text, "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997), p. 212.] A single unguentarium was buried with a dog, possibly a pet, in an industrial district in Athens. [Susan I. Rotroff, "Fusiform Unguentaria," in "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares," "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), p. 139.]

The many unguentaria at the Latin town of Aricia reflect the growth of commerce to support ritual activities at the famous sanctuary of Diana there. [Carin M.C. Green, "Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana at Aricia" (Cambridge University Press, 2007) pp. 39 and 294–295, where the term "unguentarium" is used as it was in antiquity for a shop that sells fragrances or medicaments.]

Examples

Most ceramic unguentaria either lack surface decoration or have simple horizontal lines around the neck or body consisting most often of three narrow bands of white paint. [Homer A. Thompson, "Two Centuries of Hellenistic Pottery," "Hesperia" 4 (1934), p. 472; Önder Bilgi, "Ikiztepe in the Late Iron Age," "Anatolian Studies" 49 (1999), p. 38; Natalia Vogelkoff-Brogan, "Late Hellenistic Pottery in Athens: A New Deposit and Further Thoughts on the Association of Pottery and Societal Change," "Hesperia" 69 (2000), p. 316.]

Glass unguentaria vary widely in quality and show a range of colors. The Judean desert caves, for instance, yielded unguentaria of aquamarine glass with large bubbles. [Gladys Davidson Weinberg and Dan Barag, "Glass Vessels," in "Discoveries in the Wâdi ed-Dâliyeh," "Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 41 (1974), pp. 103–104.] A [http://books.google.com/books?id=iRtJ8ONWG-4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:ISBN1931707642&sig=ACfU3U1mWZpTrwjVouG6sWB3xhFgFzVgwQ#PPA115,M1 striking example] of a glass fusiform unguentarium from 1st-century Syria, a little over six inches tall, has a white spiral curling around the cerulean body. The base comes to an elongated, rounded point, and the lip is well-formed and prominent. [Jennifer Quick and Deborah I. Olszewski, "Magnificent Objects from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology" (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 2004), p. 115 with [http://books.google.com/books?id=iRtJ8ONWG-4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=editions:ISBN1931707642&sig=ACfU3U1mWZpTrwjVouG6sWB3xhFgFzVgwQ#PPA115,M1 color photo] .] Techniques of "marbling," intended to emulate fashionably extravagant vessels made of sardonyx during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, were used for unguentaria as well as bowls. [Stuart James Fleming, "Roman Glass: Reflections on Cultural Change" (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1999), pp. 22–23, with illustrations of the technique.]

An exceptionally elaborate unguentarium was found in a cremation burial at Stobi in Macedonia. Made of milky glass, the vessel has a globular body decorated with an egg-and-dart motif around the top and festoons and vine clusters around the bottom. The middle had six panels illustrating various vessels, with two examples each of the hydria, oenochoe and crater. [James Wiseman and Djordje Mano-Zissi, "Excavations at Stobi, 1970," "American Journal of Archaeology" 75 (1971), p. 405.]

In literature

The use of the term "lacrimarium" or "lacrimatorium" for unguentaria persisted because the small vessels were believed to have been used to collect the tears ("lacrimae") of mourners to accompany the beloved in the grave. This belief was supported by a scriptural reference (Psalm 56.8) translated in the King James Bible as "put thou my tears into thy bottle." ["You have stored my tears in your bottle," Contemporary English Version, but "list my tears on your scroll" or alternatively "put my tears in your wineskin" in the New International Version.] Shakespeare refers to the practice in "Antony and Cleopatra," when Cleopatra chides the Roman for shedding few tears over the death of his wife: "Where be the sacred vials thou shouldst fill / With sorrowful water?" [William Shakespeare, "Antony and Cleopatra" I.iii.6; "The Riverside Shakespeare" (Boston 1974), p. 1351, note 63.]

The minor Victorian poet Charles Tennyson Turner, brother of the more famous Tennyson, wrote a sonnet called [http://www.bartleby.com/246/364.html "The Lachrymatory,"] elaborating the idea of "the phial of his kinsman’s tears." Since the early 20th century, the use of a vessel to collect tears of grief has been regarded as more poetic than plausible. [Homer A. Thompson, "Two Centuries of Hellenistic Pottery." "Hesperia" 4 (1934), p. 473; Virginia R. Anderson-Stojanovic, "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria," "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987), p. 106.]

ee also

Pottery of ancient Greece

Typology of Greek Vase Shapes

Roman glass

Ampulla

elected bibliography

Anderson-Stojanovic, Virginia R. "The Chronology and Function of Ceramic Unguentaria." "American Journal of Archaeology" 91 (1987) 105–122.

Fleming, Stuart James. "Roman Glass: [http://books.google.com/books?id=ONUFZfcEkBgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Roman+intitle:Glass+inauthor:fleming&lr=&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U0IA-KFDKi4yc8nEOpbTgFhZb5tKQ Reflections on Cultural Change."] University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology, 1999. ISBN 0924171731

Khairy, Nabil I. "Nabataean Piriform Unguentaria." "Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research" 240 (1980) 85–91.

Robinson, Henry S. "Pottery of the Roman Period: Chronology." In "The Athenian Agora", vol. 5. American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1959.

Pérez-Arantegui, Josefina, with Juan Ángel Paz-Peralta and Esperanza Ortiz-Palomar. "Analysis of the Products Contained in Two Roman Glass "unguentaria" from the Colony of "Celsa" (Spain)." "Journal of Archaeological Science" 23 (1996) 649–655.

Rotroff, Susan I. "Hellenistic Pottery: Athenian and Imported Wheelmade Table Ware and Related Material," part 1: text. "The Athenian Agora" 29 (1997) iii–575. ISBN 087661229X (full text [http://books.google.com/books?id=F6-TU5ZEei0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Hellenistic+intitle:Pottery+inauthor:rotroff&lr=&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U2PDi1AHgwqxxIRz_vcM_4stTYMlg online] ).

Rotroff, Susan I. "Fusiform Unguentaria." In "Hellenistic Pottery: The Plain Wares." "The Athenian Agora" 33 (2006), pp. 137–160. ISBN 0876612338 (full text [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ho2b1m3dRX0C&pg=PA2002&dq=intitle:Hellenistic+intitle:Pottery+inauthor:rotroff&lr=&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U1hs0gDH6GgfMAPcENpq5OrWmQLlA online] ).

Thompson, Homer A. "Two Centuries of Hellenistic Pottery." "Hesperia" 4 (1934) 311–476. Edited by Susan I. Rotroff and reprinted with other essays in " [http://books.google.com/books?id=Ec8ejUxhfVwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:Hellenistic+intitle:Pottery+inauthor:rotroff&lr=&as_brr=0&sig=ACfU3U3Nytn_m-lQGgYWgl38TG_h4k7ktw Hellenistic Pottery and Terracottas] " (American School of Classical Studies at Athens, 1987). ISBN 0876619448

External links

*Ancient Roman Unguentaria at [http://www.ancienttouch.com/roman_unguentaria.htm Ancienttouch.com.] A commercial site, but with excellent color images of various types in glass, as well as information on provenance and scholarly references.

*Unguentaria from the 1st to the 4th centuries A.D., [http://masca.museum.upenn.edu/rg_lineart/unguentaria_1st_3rd/unguentaria_1st_3rd.html "Roman Glassware in the University of Pennsylvania Museum."] Nearly 140 accurate line drawings representing individual unguentaria, with date, color, and provenance.

*Snežana Nikolić and Angelina Raičković, "Ceramic Balsamaria-Bottles: The Example of Viminacium," "Сtаринар" 56 (2006) [http://www.doiserbia.nbs.bg.ac.yu/(A(BGMq8RsyyQEkAAAANDY3ZTczMWItNjgyMS00NWE2LTg5MTctOTI2ZWFiNTczYmY4V-7eIfd9m6bS9whSvFeFLl73EhE1))/img/doi/0350-0241/2006/0350-02410656327N.pdf 327–336.] Overview article (in English and Russian) with detailed information on individual unguentaria (termed "balsamaria" here) and line drawings; also describes accompanying grave goods.

*Examples of glass unguentaria, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, [http://search2.famsf.org:8080/search.shtml?keywords=Unguentarium image search] .

*Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, entry on [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Unguenta.html "Unguenta,"] Bill Thayer's annotated edition at LacusCurtius. On unguents as cosmetics and their trade.

References